Quick Update

Because of personal circumstances I have had to step down from Book Blogging.  I’ve enjoyed the time that I have spent here and all the new friends that I made in the short time that I was here.  I’m still reading I just won’t be posting anymore.

On that note….

I wanted to let you all know that a close personal friend of mine has decided to take up book blogging.  She’s actually got two blogs going right now.  One she reviews: Young Adult(Paranormal, Fantasy, Dystopian, PNR), Romance (Paranormal, Paranormal Erotica), Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Steampunk and Dystopian. The other she just started this morning, after deciding to break her reviewing up into two blog, and will be blogging about : Contemporary YA, Mysteries/Thrillers/Suspense, Romance (Contemporary, Suspense, Historical) and Westerns.

You can find her at:  J.R. After Dark (Paranormal/Urban Fantasy, etc. blog) and J.R.’s Bookcase (Romance, Mysteries, etc.).  She’s got all sorts of ways to follow her available to you.  I hope that you’ll drop by and check out her blogs.

Discussion Post ~ Why I PREFER readers to followers

Confession time!  I used to blog on Blogger.  Do you want to know why I left that particular format?  Drum roll please…..I LEFT blogger because of the GFC Follower widget.  Yes, you read that correctly.  I LEFT a blogging format because of one little widget.  But apparently, that 1 little widget packs a powerful punch with certain individuals not only in the blogging community itself but also in the publishing world.

I didn’t like the math of the whole situation.  I had something like 300+ followers and I was only getting 1 or 2 comments on a post if I was lucky.  That is NOT why I blog.  I blog because I LOVE books and I want to actually have a discussion with my readers.  I’m still working on getting my reviews and discussion posts to a place where they encourage MORE discussion but I’m headed in the right direction I think.

Now that I’ve moved to wordpress, I feel I have a little more freedom.  I feel like I’ve liberated myself from the ever-present GFC Follower widget. This is also about the time that I realized that I prefer blog READERS (people who read my blog and take the time to comment) to blog FOLLOWERS.  Now this post isn’t about telling other bloggers how to run their blogs, that isn’t my intent.  And I really don’t feel the need to explain myself either.  I just wanted to take the time to say Thank You to those who read and comment on my blog.

Why do I prefer READERS to FOLLOWERS?  Great question.  I spend a LOT of time on my blog and it makes me feel really good when someone leaves me a comment on a review or something that I’ve posted because they took the time to drop by and READ what I’ve got to say.  It makes you feel like your headed in the right direction with your blog when you know you have people who READ what you have to say on a regular basis.  Right now I’ve got a small following of regular READERS that drop by on a regular basis and comment.  LOVE YOU GUYS/GALS!

In NO WAY am I saying that Followers and blog stats aren’t important.  They are, I fully admit that.  But for me personally, right now I blog mostly for myself and those who READ my blog. Right now, all that other stuff is just that stuff.

I read a post recently about how to get Blog Followers versus Blog Readers.  I really enjoyed the article.  It’s actually one of the posts that pushed me to become a follower of that blogger’s blog.  All of the suggestions are great suggestions…Twitter, Facebook, email, comments…3 out of the 4 I’m TERRIBLE at.  I’m working on being a better commenter.  When I post a post the link is automatically sent to my Twitter account and my Facebook account, but beyond that I’m failing on my failboat with those forms of social media as well.  But my main focus right now is to better my content on my blogs. Followed closely by getting better at all of those things.

So what do YOU think?  Do you prefer READERS to FOLLOWERS?  What are your thoughts on the GFC Follower widget?  Do you think I’m splitting hairs?

Friday Follow January 20, 2012

 

I don’t have GFC on my blog but I do feedburner, you can follow via email, twitter, or facebook.

Q: What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done to get your hands on any particular book?

 

I haven’t really done anything too crazy to get my hands on a book.  I have paid a considerable amount of money to have a couple of new releases in my hands on release day.  That’s about it.  There aren’t many author visits that happen in my area.

 

 

Review ~ Long Hard Ride (Rough Riders #1) by Lorelei James

Title: Long Hard Ride
Author: Lorelei James
Series: Rough Riders #1
Genre: Contemporary Romance/Erotica
Format Reviewed: Purchased E-Book
Release Date: February 1, 2008
Rating:
Challenges: 2012 E-Book Challenge, 2012 Erotic Reading Challenge, 2012 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge, 2012 100+ Reading Challenge, 2012 Read Your Own Books Challenge, 2012 Reading Romances Challenge, 2012 TBR Reading Challenge

Synopsis:

Channing Kinkaid itches for a wild western adventure with an untamed man. Enter Colby McKay, bull rider, saddle bronc buster and calf roper. He knows he’s found a woman who’s up to the challenge of cutting loose. Intrigued by Channing’s bold proposition to “horse around” on the road, Colby proposes sexual escapades not only in his bed, but in those of his two rodeo traveling partners. Can Channing give up total control? Especially when not all is as it seems with the sexy trio?

Review:

I love my Nook smut!  Furthermore, I LOVE this series!  I hadn’t really heard of Lorelei James until my mom told me I HAD to read this series!  Now I’m kicking myself that I waited so long to check this authors books out!

At the start of this book Channing has basically run away from the pre-planned life that her parents have set up for her.  Channing’s idea of adventure is chasing the rodeo and it turns out that Channing’s first traveling partner is a slime ball.  Enter our white knight, Colby McKay and his traveling partner’s Trevor Glanzer and Edgar Mancuso.  Colby offer’s Channing the adventure that she’s been looking for and Channing, how is completely attracted to Colby, can’t help but jump at the chance.

What really attracted me to this book was that everything wasn’t what it seemed with a couple of the characters.  That and Colby McKay is a total Alpha male with a practically insatiable sexual appetite.  As the 4 amigo’s roll along everyone learns a little something about each other. Which as the story progresses makes things very interesting.

Sexually, pretty much anything goes in Long Hard Ride.  At times Colby was a little bit TO Alpha for me but it seems that just when I wanted to write him off as an ass he did something to redeem himself to me.  I will say this, it does get a little wild at times. 

Overall, this isn’t my absolute favorite book in the series but it most definitely was a great start to a fascinating series.

Teaser Tuesday ~ Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers

 

“Her leg and hand were gone, leaving stumps where the surgeons had attached her prostheses.  Dead wires dangled from them.” pg. 77

Discussion Post ~ Blogging Goals for 2012

Everyone has goals right?  Wether it’s in life or blogging goals give us something to look forward too.  I just took over Tales from the Crypt and The Book Junkie’s Bookshelf on January 1 and I’ve come up with some realizations and goals for the coming year.  So let’s take a look at them shall we:

Realizations

• I realized that with the pending birth of my niece in March and some other things that I have going on in real life that I just don’t have the time to maintain 2 book blogs.
• I need to be better about the giveaways.  I have to come up with a better system.
• When I got handed these two blogs I got handed EVERYTHING including a sending out a prize to a winner from a giveaway that ended a while ago.
• That I have gotten entirely too caught up in keeping up with the “Jones'” of book blogging. (There will be a separate discussion post about this later on)
• That I like having discussions on my blogs.
• That the blog itself needs some work.
• The Blogger needs a little bit of work too.

Goals

• My reading goal for 2012 is to read 110 books through out the course of the year.
• To get the reviews and discussion posts that are on Tales from the Crypt moved over to this blog before February 1.  As of February 1, I will be blogging here exclusively with the exception of the challenge link ups on Tales from the Crypt.
• I am going to start accepting self-published novels on a limited basis…I’ve already updated the review policy.
• I need to add links to other blogs. If you want to be added to my link list drop me an email (moretalesfromthecrypt@gmail.com) and let me know.
• I need to add a reviews page.  I’ve decided that on the reviews page you will be able to see reviews by genre and series (if applicable) for now.  I’m sure I’ll revise as things start to progress with the blog.
• Keep things simple. This goes for giveaways too.
• Finish at least 4 reading challenges in 2012.
• Read at least 20 of my own books in 2012.
• Try at least 2 new to me authors/series.
• Read at least 12 library book in 2012.
• Use my public library more.
• Host at least 2 reading challenges for 2013.
• Accept review requests for books that interest me.
• Be a part of more blog tours.
• Figure out a posting schedule that works for me.

For now those are my blogging goals.  I’m sure that I’ll probably add more along the way but this is a pretty good list to start with I think.  How about you?  Do you have any blogging goals for 2012?  What are they?

In My Mailbox January 7, 2012

In My Mailbox is hosted by the lovely Story Siren.  In My Mailbox is our opportunity to show off the books that we got during the week.

It’s been a busy book week here at The Book Junkie’s Bookshelf!  It seems that ALL of my library holds decided to show up all at once!

I hope your able to find your next “must read” book through your travels!  Leave me a link to your IMM and I’ll be sure to drop by.

Bought – Bound

Lawe’s Justice by Lora Leigh
Richochet by Sandra Brown
Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Bought – EBooks

For Review

Lovesick by Spencer Seidel

Library Books

 

 

 

ARC Review ~ Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

Title: Incarnate
Author: Jodi Meadows
Series: Newsoul #1
Genre: YA/Paranormal/Dystopia
Format Reviewed: ARC from ATWT
Release Date: January 31, 2012

Rating:

Synopsis:

NEWSOUL
Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.

NOSOUL
Even Ana’s own mother thinks she’s a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she’ll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are suspicious and afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?

HEART
Sam believes Ana’s new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana’s enemies—human and creature alike—let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else’s life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?

Jodi Meadows expertly weaves soul-deep romance, fantasy, and danger into an extraordinary tale of new life.

Review:

Our main character, Ana, was never meant to be born to the Range.  On the Range the people have been reincarnated over and over again for thousands of years.  Then Ana comes along and is born in place of one of the million souls who have been reincarnated since the very beginning.  There are those who view Ana’s birth as a sign of a new age.  Then there are those like Ana’s very own mother who view her birth as a sign of the end.  It’s very unfortunate that Ana is born into such an unforgiving world.  In Incarnate Ana will face many things like dragons, assassins, and dangerous shadow creatures just to name a few.  But Ana has her friend Sam there to help her and with his help she might even make it and learn why she even exists.

If you are a reader who enjoys reading dystopian novels you should enjoy Incarnate.  The authors writing style is very understandable without being “in your face” obvious.  The world that the author has created is of a place that is trying to move forward and keep itself protected in an unbelievably cruel environment.

Ms. Meadows has most definitely earned this 5/5 review.  This author’s idea alone is really unlike anything that I have heard of much less read about recently in YA literature.  Each and every character has their own very unique personality.  Without giving anything away, our main character is very dynamic.  definitely MVP of Incarnate.  I can hardly wait to see how this series progresses and can hardly wait to get my hands on book #2.

ARC Review ~ Crossed by Ally Condie

Title: Crossed
Author: Ally Condie
Series: Matched #2
Genre: YA/Dystopia
Format: ARC from ATWT
Release Date: November 1, 2011

Rating:

Synopsis:

The hotly awaited second book in the dystopian Matched trilogy

In search of a future that may not exist and faced with the decision of who to share it with, Cassia journeys to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky – taken by the Society to his certain death – only to find that he has escaped, leaving a series of clues in his wake.

Cassia’s quest leads her to question much of what she holds dear, even as she finds glimmers of a different life across the border. But as Cassia nears resolve and certainty about her future with Ky, an invitation for rebellion, an unexpected betrayal, and a surprise visit from Xander – who may hold the key to the uprising and, still, to Cassia’s heart – change the game once again. Nothing is as expected on the edge of Society, where crosses and double crosses make the path more twisted than ever.

Review:

I thought that this book was really pretty good.  Though I think in a few places Crossed dragged on a little bit.  Nothing to terrible, just enough to keep it from getting a 5 star rating.

I think that as this series progresses Cassia just keeps getting stronger.  Though I have to admit that there wasn’t much in the way of the “love triangle” in this book, meaning there wasn’t many Xander sightings in this book.  I’m hoping he has a greater presence in book 3. The book is narrated by Cassia and Ky in alternating chapters.  I did enjoy learning more about Ky.

Overall, I was really impressed with Crossed.  The world that has been built-in these pages are beautifully described.  I also really liked how the narration flows with such fluidity that I couldn’t help but keep reading.  I think that Crossed is a really good follow-up to Matched and I can hardly wait to see how this series ends!

Review ~ Devil May Cry by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Title:Devil May Cry
Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon

Series: Dark Hunter #12

Rating: 4/5

Source: purchased with my own money

 

Synopsis: (from Barnes and Noble)

 

Sin, a Sumerian fertility god turned Vegas casino owner, and Kat, the zealous servant of bossy Greek goddess Artemis, knock boots and kick butt in Kenyon’s juicy 11th Dark-Hunter paranormal love-fest (after 2006′s Dark Side of the Moon). Sin’s been on the warpath for thousands of years, since Artemis stole his godhood. Sin’s also upset about the disappearance of his twin brother, Zakar, and the imminent invasion of the vampiric Sumerian gallu, who plan to liberate the Dimme superdemons and destroy all humanity. Kat agrees to kill Sin before he kills Artemis, but instead the two fall in madcap love while trying to prevent Armageddon. It’s just another day’s work for the immortals, who act a lot like ordinary quarrelsome people with way cool superpowers. Though readers may need a scorecard to keep up with the cast, this series puts a contemporary spin on classical mythology that an increasing number of fans have found irresistible.

 

Review:

 

This is the second book I’ve read in Kenyon’s Dark Hunter series and I think I have a Dark Hunter addiction! Sin’s a real bad ass who’s been doing things pretty much on his own since Artemis took his godhood from him, trusting almost no one and looking to extract revenge on Artemis. Then Artemis catches him doing “something bad” and calls upon Katra to go and kill Sin only to find out that the “something bad” Artemis saw him doing was actually something good. See the Sumerian gallu are days away from escaping their prision and when they do escape they plan to liberate the Dimme and that pretty much means the end of humanity unless Sin and a small army can stop them.

 

Oh and then there’s Artemis’ BIG secret that she kept from Acheron! Not going to give that one away though. Gonna have to read the book to find out what that is.

 

I really like how Kenyon wrote this story. Big ole bad ass Sin getting verbally slapped around by little ole Kat….Good times. The fight scenes were GREAT in my opinion too. All the characters, even the not SO good ones, were written in a way that made them all at least a little bit likeable. Oh and then there is the sex….those scenes were written really great too! Just saying.